Treasure be mine
by MYcakes
Summary: Homura is recovering from her heart surgery and her social worker thinks a city like Tokyo isn't the best place to recuperate. She sends Homura to a quiet town by the sea. Homura is disappointed and knows she won't have anything to do in this slow town for the rest of her summer. Her low expectations are washed away when she gains a fish friend. (mermaid au)
1. Chapter 1

The train ride was a blur but Homura jerked awake when they reached her destination. She was one of the last to get out of the now empty bus and because she was groggy she almost bumped into a large man. She was momentarily stunned at the beautiful ocean view and the small town resting down the cliff. The air was different from the city and the mop clean smell of the hospital. Homura smiled as the sun shinned at her and the ocean sparkled with welcome. The buildings had a light colors theme going and there was the summer feeling brimming in the small town.

"Maybe this is the start of something new," Homura whispers to herself, but not fully believing her words.

Homura scans the area and spots a girl with golden, twirled hair carrying a sign that has Homura's name written on it. She has the same sunny disposition as the rest of the town and the comforting aura is the reason why Homura was able to approach her without shying away.

"Hi," Homura said awkwardly and glances down.

"Hello. Are you Homura Akemi?" The girl asks and Homura bobs her head. "Great. I'm Mami and I'm here to take you to the Home. Let me help carry your luggage," Mami says.

Homura was taught to always have a bag ready in case she needed to move. Her stay at the hospital hadn't changed that and her dark duffel bag had been pushed into a corner. Her first home had taken into consideration Homura's frail body and gotten her a bag with wheels to take off some of the burden. Homura hates being a burden to others but she doesn't know how far the Home is and she's still recovering from her heart operation. It wouldn't do good extort her heart and give Mami a heart attack when they're walking there.

"Thank you," Homura hands her the dark bag containing all her belongings.

Mami nods and leads the way down the stairs. She talks animatedly along the way and goes into brief introduction about what Homura suspects is important. Some older gentlemen glance at them, specifically Mami, as they go down the long stairs.

"I don't actually live at the Home," Mami informs her.

"What? You're adopted," a little too forward but Homura is shocked, there have been cases of couples adopting young teens except Mami doesn't look like one.

"No. My parents died but they left me money. Under the law I can live by myself under certain restrictions. I have a job at the beach, I'm sixteen, and I don't have any medical issues. I stayed at the Home for a few weeks while my lawyer got the papers worked through but my time there changed me. I volunteer there from time to time. Feel free to come to me if you have any problems, question or need an ear," Homura doesn't ask how her parents die and Mami doesn't add more information. Homura might get into her life story but she figures Mami was briefly told by the head of the house or saw Homura's file.

"Actually, Mami, if you don't mind me asking..."

"Not at all! Go ahead and ask," Mami smiles brightly.

"Does this town have a library?" She asks meekly.

"Yes! It's a small town, but unfortunately it's on the other side and a little distance from the Home," Mami smile is almost apologetical.

"Oh," Homura says a little disappointed.

"However, the Home is close to the beach. It's also located at the feet of the mountain and has a small creak running down behind the house. The younger girls like to go there and find fairies," that makes Homura smile.

"About the Home?" Homura lets the sentence hang there.

"What did your social worker say?"

"Not much. It's located in this charming little town and the lack of car fumes will be good for you Homura," Homura mimics the woman's voice. She fishes out her phone and-" she wasn't kidding about the signal here."

"Strangely, if you climb the mountains there's magnificent wifi signal and view." Maybe Homura will try to hike up when she's better and stronger. Right now she's drowsy and weak from her medicine and she has to scope her new location. "You okay Homura?" Mami asks and Homura nods.

"Tell me about this town," Homura inquired, slightly out of breath once they reached the last step and she cringed at the slope going down.

She follows Mami and studies the tall, classy, building with pretty colors.

"Why are the colors so...?" Homura fidgets and Mami chuckles.

"There is a girly color scheme going on, huh."

"Yeah," there's varying degrees of pink, red, orange, and light blue.

"According to legend," Mami begins. "The men were mostly fishermen and their wives tended the shops and homes. The fishermen would identify their homes by the colorful roofs and walls painted with their wives and children's favorite colors. I guess it uplifted their spirits when they were having a slow day. On that note, the light house by the pier doesn't work. Apparently, everybody complained about the strong light and since there has never been a boating accident or loss, it got shut down."

"That's cute," Homura says about the building. "It's a nice contrast to the lively Tokyo."

"I hope you don't get homesickness."

"Tokyo wasn't home," Homura sighs.

"Oh! I'm sorry, that was-"

"It's fine. I know you didn't mean anything bad about it. It was boring staring at skyscrapers from my window," Homura smiles and that seems to relieve Mami. They hear yelling and Homura turns her head back to see four kids flying down a street on a skateboard. Homura is relieved that the lack of cars means they won't become roadkill. She moves to the side and a boy waves at her as he goes down.

"There isn't much on entertainment but we get by," Mami chuckles lightly. "There's a small cinema in the middle of town but movies show up late. The price of the popcorn is reasonable though," Mami laughs. "Unless your name is Kyoko. The cinema owner won't make the same mistake twice."

"Who?"

"Ah, sorry. She was my friend. She arrived a week after I did and we got attached quickly," Mami explains.

"Was?"

"We quarreled," Mami turned her head away from Homura.

"Oh," Homura glances at the ground, guilty for bringing that up.

"I guess you don't have to worry about this right now but middle and high school are cramped together so you'll be seeing me when school starts again."

"Oh," Homura gulps.

"It's just the beginning of summer so we just have to get you enrolled and get your electives picked. The school is located on the far west side because the kids might be tempted to escape and run to the beach. Everybody knows everybody so the adults would easily call them out if they see them going east on school hours."

"Clever," Homura chuckles nervously. She's frightened about being the new girl both in town and at school, she'll stand out in this close-knit community. "Is the woman in charge of the house kind?"

"She's...lovely," Mami offers and Homura gulps. She hopes beyond hope that the woman isn't a witch. "I can't give a confident review since I was busy and was only there for a few weeks. And we're here!" Mami stops and Homura almost stumbles into her. She glances up at the Home and she's getting serious Monster House vibes. It's not falling apart or anything, the lawn and the light brown paint looks freshly done but she has this weird gut feeling. Perhaps it's just jitters. "Ready?"

Homura wants to say of course she is, in fact she's a pro at coming and going without getting attached to anyone. Homura's been ready ever since she was left at the doorstep of a convent. All she says is a simple, "Yeah," accompanied by a tight lip smile.

Mami unlocked the door when she saw Homura put her game face on that promptly transformed to surprise when a red head barreled past her. Homura groaned from the ground and the red haired girl back tracked, stooped and grasped Homura's waist. Homura whelped when the girl easily lifted her from the ground.

"Kyoko! What have we told you ab-"

"Sorry! There's a special at my favorite place. Hey roomie. Got to go," and she ran with a speed that made Homura think she should try for the Olympics.

"That's Kyoko," Mami sighs. "She's a free spirit and is rarely here, except to sleep and eat."

"I like her already," Homura says.

"Come in," Mami leads her inside and down a corridor with the kitchen at the left side and the living room at the right. Down the corridor there is a stair case leading to the second floor but they don't go up. Instead they go straight where there's a single lightbulb giving its all to provide dim light and Homura sees the closed door.

"This is the office," Mami knocks softly and Homura can hear a muffled come in.

The conversation isn't as awkward or stifled as Homura dreaded. The woman is polite and pleasant, she gave Homura a list detailing all her Homura's duties and what summer she needed to do, and where she could leave her medicine. Mami gave her a tour of the Home starting with the first floor and then upstairs. Homura realized how old this House was when the floor boards squeaked obnoxiously. Mami laughs at Homura's sheepish face.

"You'll get used to it but don't try to sneak out of the House at night. The kids must have finished lunch and wandered off. You'll probably see them when they have to prepare dinner. Are you hungry?"

Homura takes stock of her body. No she wasn't hungry but she hadn't eaten anything besides a banana this morning and pudding last night. Her medicine must have reduced her appetite but she should eat.

"No, not really," Homura says instead.

"Okay. Let me take you to your room."

There are candy wrappers everywhere. Not just candy wrappers but, bags of empty chips, soda cans, napkins littering the floor. Homura schools her face but Mami growls. "I told Kyoko to clean before you arrived!" She sighs. "I'm sorry, I'll clean this up real quick."

"Let me help," but Mami places Homura's bag on, presumably, Homura's bed and dashes off. "...Okay," Homura mumbles and immediately goes digging in her bag for her pills.

Mami comes back with a trash bag, a dust pan, and a broom. "Do you need water?"

"No, I'm used to going in dry."

"Let me tidy up your side of the room," and together they start picking up the trash on the floor.

Homura spots a newspaper almost tucked under Kyoko's bed and reaches it. She was going to fold it and leave it on the desk but the title of the article and the little scribbled notes on the side catch her attention. A large number of people disappearing and the police unable to find any clues. There was no signs of breaking and entering, they all just disappeared one night and the police had no idea what to make of it. It wasn't just child abduction but of all ages, going so far as to someone in the 50's, it was all very peculiar and odd. On the side are dates scribbled: 2015, 2001, 1987, 1973, 1959 and so on.

Homura jumps out of her skin when she feels a hand on her shoulder.

"Sorry," Mami retracts her hand. "I asked if you were okay."

"Oh, yes, sorry." Homura glances back at the newspaper. "Do you see this?"

"Our local newspaper, _Playa Pequena,_ " Mami nods.

"Doesn't this worry you? There's a pattern of a 14 year break before it starts again. Shouldn't the government be all over this?"

"There's nothing to worry about Homura," Mami shakes her head. "Whoever organized that must be long gone or physically incapable of pulling an act like that again," Mami says with a kind tone to put Homura at ease. "Kyoko must have that because she's going to be taking history. Don't worry, this town is perfectly safe."

"I see..." Homura shrugs and puts the paper on Kyoko's desk.

"You should rest before the girls come back, they can be rowdy."

Homura wakes up to screaming, and she groans pitifully. She gets up and blinks wearily at nothing because she doesn't try to focus on the fuzzy shapes. She's startled not to see the white walls surrounding her but red. Homura's rubs her eyes and tries to locate her glasses. The hospital cabinet isn't there and that disorients Homura more. Patting her bed she feels the rims of the glasses and puffs out a relieved sigh.

She remembers that she had a successful surgery and finally being discharged. Leaving Tokyo and the bus ride comes back in full rush. Homura hasn't unpacked yet, she has to discuss with Kyoko what barriers there are going to be. Homura changes into a dress and fixes her braids before going downstairs to meet her house mates.

There are at least five kids younger than her and they're all in the living room playing UNO. The rest look a few years older than Homura and Homura wonders if the woman in charge, Kylie, assigns roommates by age group. Unease creeps inside Homura and she wants Mami or Kylie to come and guide Homura. The older kids are preparing dinner and shouldn't be disturbed so Homura goes to the living room. The younger kids look up from their game and Homura takes a step back because of the number of people staring at her.

"Hi," Homura squeaks.

The kids smile shyly and make space for Homura to join. She plops down next to a girl with a rabbit hat and they hand her seven cards.

"You're the new girl?" A boy with shaggy brown hair asks.

"Yes. I'm Homura Akemi."

"Is it true you're sick," they ask bluntly.

"Not completely, I'm better now."

"The hospital fixed you up?"

"Yeah, I don't have to return unless I get bad again."

"How bad are you? Can you eat candy or junk food?"

"Yes I can eat candy," Homura chuckles. "I can't do any strenuous activities though. My heart isn't that strong."

"That sucks. Its okay, girls should stay home anyways," shaggy hair boy shrugs and some of the girls roll their eyes while rabbit hat swats his shoulder.

"Ow! It's true!" he pouts.

"Don't talk bad about the people who feed you," rabbit hat snips. She slides a card to the table and smiles sweetly at Homura. "Plus four, Homura. I'm Jessie that one-" she points at shaggy hair boy- "is Devin. We're the top dogs here."

"Nice to meet you," Homura responds with a plus four. The boy next to Homura smirks and throws his plus four at the table. Devin groans with disdain at all of them.

"Ya'll suck," but he goes to collect 12.

"Talk sh- "

"Dinner is ready!" someone yells from the kitchen and that's when a door is hurled open and Kyoko comes running in.

"Just in time!" Say's a sopping wet Kyoko.


	2. Chapter 2

Homura was used to being alone but she knew the kids didn't intentionally make her feel isolated, Homura was just too late, too slow to game with them. The older kids had their own groups of friends and the younger spent their days running around in the mountains so Homura frequently found herself alone. The library was small and only contained academic texts that Homura couldn't find entertaining. She rarely saw Kyoko except to eat. Kyoko had one day dragged Homura to the beach to show her the best place to eat, a lovely seafood restaurant…right next to the dessert shop where Mami works. According to Kyoko, the store owners had some ancient family drama and the people that work there can't go across to other place. It gets awkward when Kyoko coldly smiled at Mami after she finishes her fried dish but doesn't go to visit.

The ocean waves were not gentle, they were towering and had a kick that easily knocked Homura and Kyoko from the floor. The wind was brisk, the sun shielded by friendly clouds, and the beach populated by teens working on their tans and families out to have a good time. Kyoko disappeared around noon and Homura walked aimlessly until she spotted the children from the group Home.

"Hey! What are you guys doing so far out?" Homura yells and they look up from their parchment.

"We're searching for gold," Devin answers.

"This place is pretty far from where everybody is. Could be dangerous."

"Exactly," Devin nods. "Why would you hide your valuable stuff where anybody can access it?"

"Is this a game of pretend?"

"No. See, we got a real treasure map and everything," Jessie gives Homura their map. "The next clue is that it's near the right angle palm tree."

"Wha-"Homura glances to the side and yes there was an old palm tree, hanging from the steep side of the hill, making a right angle.

"We're here to claim treasure! Gold, and silver, and pearls!" Jessie says proudly and the other kids nod. "You and the older kids will have a small share too, Homura. We can get you heart that isn't damaged so you can play with us! Or we can get your old one fixed," the other kids nod.

Homura smiles joyfully at them. "Thank you, but a new heart isn't worth it if you guys get injured. It's dangerous for little kids to be by themselves here," this is what happens when you read too much of Stephen Kings work, you get a little paranoid.

"You're a big kid, Homura. Why don't you join the quest?"

"Oh, uhm-"

"Dummy, its buried treasure! Homura can't go, uh, straining herself and we'll get in trouble if something happens," Devin hisses.

"I-wait," Homura studies the terribly drawn pictures and childish handwriting. "This looks deep," Homura's eyes dart from the small children to the murky water next to them. She's worried about them but Devin puffs out his chest.

"We've been swimming our whole lives. We're basically have fish, look, if you look closely you'll see I have fish gills. I'm basically an aquatic mammal."

"Uh-huh," Homura nods and hands them their map back. "The words are in German. I think it says that the chest can fulfill any wish."

"Oooohhhh," they all say in union, forming an o with their mouths. "That explains a lot. I thought it was just funny scribbles," Jessie shrugs. "Any wish? Now we have to find it. Thanks, Homura."

"Does it say anything else important?" Devin asks.

"It's most likely cursed."

"Figures. We'll Indiana Jones it," he says arrogantly.

"Don't stay out too long," Homura waves goodbye.

"K!" They yell and Devin runs to the water.

Homura slowly walks away, glancing back and straining her ears in case they begin distress yelling but they're all happily splashing and searching. Homura isn't a great swimmer so she dearly hopes that nobody drowns.

Homura kicks up sand and moves around the spread towels on the beach. She's surprised that they leave their purses and stuff unattended without fear of someone stealing it. Homura walks to the pier and Kyoko yells at her from the other end.

"Yo, Homura!" Kyoko waves. "Where the hell did you go?"

Homura thinks about retorting that Kyoko was the one that disappeared first but decides not to. Kyoko is in her bathing suit, barefoot, and holding a fishing rod.

"Uhm, the waves swept me away and I ran into the younger kids," Homura shrugs.

"Hmmm, you got to be careful about that," Kyoko mutters, a strawberry airhead clenched between her teeth. "The sea is seriously creepy. Those brats better not be getting into any trouble."

"Is it? I thought the sea looked beautiful."

"Above the surface, yeah, but not so much in the deep waters. I liked to snoop when I was a kid, I tagged along with the sailors. When we reached the deep parts I dived in with my goggles and..." Homura leans closer. "I got stung by a stupid jellyfish! And seaweed touched me, ugh," Kyoko shudders and Homura smiles politely. "The coral reefs by the cliffs are pretty though. It's a miracle they haven't been bleached by the factories."

"Are you passionate about this stuff Kyoko?"

"Hmm, me? No, not really. It's a small town so I latch to anything that grabs my attention. But there's a lot to see if you're good at snooping," Kyoko grins ferociously. "You'll probably regret it thought, when you anger a beehive and get chased by cats," she reels back her string. "The only thing I'm passionate about is food," Kyoko produces a icecream. "Want?" Homura takes it gratefully, she had swallowed sea water earlier and the taste hasn't left her mouth.

Homura unwraps it by the stick point and crushes the wrapper in her hand. She takes a small, testing bite and scrunches her face. "Blech. Its salty."

"Let it rest in your mouth for a moment. It gets sweet, kind of like sour pouch kids."

"What's that?" Homura takes another bite and does as Kyoko instructs.

"...Er, I'll show you a commercial later."

"Have you caught anything?" Homura peers at the bucket but there's only a pile of apples. "Uhm, why?"

"My favorite fishy friend likes them," Kyoko grins and Homura just shakes her head at the silly answer.

"I'm no expert on sea animals but I don't think you're supposed to feed them apples."

"Said the city girl," Kyoko snorts. "Swimming takes a lot of energy from you. Let's go annoy Mami," Kyoko picks up her bucket and Homura thinks she catches the sight of a large green tail but on the next blink it's just waves forming.

"Okay," Homura follows behind Kyoko.

Kyoko wasn't a liar. They went to the casual restaurant next door and got a table outside where they could wave at Mami. Homura mouthed sorry to Mami who sighed and went back to sweeping.

"Kyoko our allowance won-"

"Oh, nothing to worry about. They pity us kids and give us free meals. I say us, but I primarily mean you and the other. I have a monster apetite. We'll probably a discount so..."

"Yes, I'll treat you," Homura sighs.

"Thanks Homuhomu!" Kyoko grins and Homura's right eye twitches.

"…"

"No? Too soon to use cute nick names?" Kyoko jests. "I feel like I should get to call you that since I have to sleep in the same space as the those creepy dolls of yours."

"I suppose not strawberry shortcake."

"I'll have you know, I love kiddie shows," Kyoko smirks and she hollers at the waiter. "My man, how about the usual and-" Kyoko glances at Homura. "Something fattening for my new roomie. Pink lemonade for both of us," Kyoko shouts and he shoots her a dirty before nodding and going to the kitchen window. "You look like a strong wind can carry you, buddy. You don't eat much at home either. How are you supposed to get better if ya don't eat?"

"I eat," Homura argues.

"Yeah, those nasty granola bars," Kyoko gags.

"I don't get food cravings and sometimes I just forget to eat," Homura shrugs.

"You should set an alarm on your phone to remind you. You're all skin and bones, and I know Mami has been trying to fatten you up like the witch from Hansel and Gretel."

Homura winces, she thought Mami just liked to cook but if she's going out of her way to help Homura. "I apologize, I didn't know I was causing you both to worry."

"Hmmm, no problem. We orphans have got to look after each other and when necessary punch the crab out of each other," Kyoko grins in delight when the server comes with their drinks.

"No refills for you," he subtly growls at Kyoko.

"Yeah, got it. Honestly, all I want is to be loved and we're tipping for service so I better feel that love," Kyoko's grin reveals a flash of a fang.

"Enjoy your drinks ladies," the server says with a pleasant smile.

"Thank you."

Homura observed Kyoko as she practically inhaled her beverage until there was only half of it left. Kyoko sighed happily and turned to the sea as if she was expecting something.

"Are you alright, Kyoko? You look bittersweet," Homura asks.

"I'm just missing my friends," Kyoko admits

"...We can head over to Mami's if you feel that terrible," Kyoko blushes a little.

"Not that friend. Another one that's at the ocean."

"With the sailors?" Homura asks.

"Maybe. She's very adventures and daring and I'm worried because she's always running toward trouble. It should be fine if her best friend is there."

"Trouble? Is it the same trouble as the newspaper article?"

"Ah, sorry about the mess. I was in a rush to meet her."

"Is she in our grade?"

"I think so," Kyoko shifts in her seat. "She's not from town."

"Oh."

"And I wouldn't worry about news article. It was just some fun research...just don't be by yourself out at night."

"Sage advice," Homura nods. She studies Kyoko and thinks she doesn't look like the type who is interested in morbid stuff.

Even though Homura took preventive measures and basically doused herself with sunblock, when she went back to the Home she had Patrick Star's skin color. Her shower was cold and quick so she could quickly rub lotion all over herself. She was exhausted after the beach day but didn't go to lay down, instead she went to do her chores. When she was raking the yard one of the older girls stepped out of the house and Homura could feel her scrutiny.

"Ah, Homura. You don't have to do that."

"Uhm."

"You should get out of the sun. You're looking...pink. We don't want you to faint from heatstroke."

"I-I uhm, it's fine. I can do this. I'm not incapable of doing this," Homura had noticed that compared to everyone else, she had the least amount of chores and they were easy stuff. She wasn't even allowed to broom because they thought the dust bunnies could kill her.

"Mmmm," the older girl peered at Homura and Homura felt her will crumbling. "Okay, but how about you change into something else. It's not smart to wear all black in the sun."

"Okay," Homura nods and darts inside the house to change into something more acceptable. When she comes back outside a few of the older kids are there raking and throwing the dead leaves in a trash bag. Homura rake had been taken so she stood on the porch and just glanced around for instruction. The girls were done in no time and Homura made it her resolution to bulk up and not depend on anybody.

The kids come back at nine and they're in pretty low spirits. They didn't find the treasure but they're not giving up. The kids are in better shape once they eat and they congregate in the living room to discuss their next move and what they'll do with the money and chest. Homura chuckles and doesn't interject but she sits on the couch near them as they chatter excitedly.

As usual, Kyoko wasn't home at curfew. Homura lies down on her bed and presses her hand to her eyes until she starts seeing explosions of colors. She doesn't think, she acts, and ruffles through her clothing until she finds her bathing suit and a bag of glow sticks the kids had gifted to her. Homura borrows Kyoko's goggles and buckles a tight belt that carried pouches on it. She decidedly avoids going through the stairs and risking someone hearing her because of the loud, old, wooden floor. Carefully, Homura slides the window up and pushes her head out to search.

Mami had confided in Homura and told her that Kyoko was a never ending battery and because she was restless at night, she frequently escaped the Home to wander the town. Homura studied her surrounding and tried to find Kyoko's escape route. She used her phone's light to illuminate the area. Was she going to go down the tile and jump off? Homura thought about those kids and how the feeling of being needed. Homura sucked in air and kept a hand on the glass to steady herself as she goes over with one leg. No problem.

She didn't break anything when she leapt off and landed on the soft ground that didn't crunch under her feet. No dog barked at her, nobody glanced at her, and she didn't get stopped. The plan was going rather smoothly, even her large, snug, sweater wasn't necessary because there was little wind. Homura made it to the beach and slipped her sandals off without fear of any pesky shell digging at her. She felt goosebumps rising on her body when her feet touched sand and Homura listened to the crashing waves.

The sight of the curling waves and the soft noise of the it reaching and receding almost felt like it was putting her in a peaceful trance. Homura had the oddest feeling of nostalgia, of lying down on this lovely night with the cold galaxy over her head, the seemingly endless freezing ocean in front of her, and having a warm captivating person next to her to share this moment with. She pinched her cheeks in an effort to focus and moved to the direction of the hanging palm tree. Homura chuckled when she saw that the kids had left their toy shovels and buckets at the same location. There were various holes scattered on the shore and Homura pitied them rascals because the holes were quite deep and the effort was evident.

The thing is, according to the chicken scratch text, the place was underwater and the only way to reach this place was to dive in the water. Homura almost hits her toe with a giant rock and it's that rock that Homura decides is the best, high, dry place to leave her stuff. Homura wrestled out of her black sweater and drops it on top of her sports bag. She snaps one glow stick and places the rest in her left pouch. The ocean no longer looks welcoming, enticing and menacing, Homura thinks of going back to her warm bed.

"I've almost died twice. I'm not going to get scared of water," Homura mumbles, trying to encourage herself.

Homura inhales until her lungs are aching and plunges. Through the goggles she sees red bubbles and further, surrounding her is darkness. Her skin prickles and she almost shudders out air but keeps it in. She has time, her body could handle this, her heart could handle a night swim. Homura persists through the cold and begins her search.

Swimming at night was fun until Homura start thinking about all the things lurking beneath that she couldn't see. Thinking about something grabbing your foot and pulling you down as you lungs explode from the pressure and your head becomes giddy. Homura tried very hard not to think about those stuff but her heart began to beat harder anyways.

Twenty mintues later and Homura is holding on to the edge, keeping her head above the water and thinks she might have overestimated herself.

"I know it's around here. I'll bet my heart on it but where exactly," Homura sighs.

She takes another long breath of cold air and goes down. She keeps close to the wall covered in rocks, and plants. Homura goes as far as she can before her lungs start groaning and her ears are pounding. Deciding she's taking too long to go back up, Homura grabs one of the prodding corals and when she pushes it snaps to reveal a gap. Homura breaks through the surface and coughs painfully.

She recalls in the little mermaid where electric eels come out of a tunnel and winces.

"You got to take chances in life," she tells herself and reluctantly dives underwater.

But wouldn't it be horrible if she drowns and the kids find her body floating in the morning? Homura stops thinking and breaks more of the roots, twigs, and corals blocking the hole. The way it was carefully covered, there was definitley something in there. Homura drops a glow stick in the tunnel, as she swims inside she keeps dropping glow sticks to light her path and her vision is starting to become dizzy when she reaches the end of the tunnel and kicks upward.

"Ough," Homura spits out water. "I'm never going to get used to that terrible taste," she groans. She thinks she's in a cavern but she's not sure until she pushes herself out of the water and into solid ground, removes her goggles and pulls out her glasses from her pouch. What she sees makes her gasp and she almost twists her neck with how she cranes it. "Wow," Homura gets up in wobbly legs and there is just enough light coming from the cracks above and the glow stick that she can see the reflected precious stones.

Homura is beaming and thinking about how happy everyone is going to be. She will omit the part about the ruined reefs because it's evident how much these people love the ocean. The sailors use wooden boats and this one time Homura dropped a wrapper, Mami and the kids looked at her like she had committed the gravest sin. The breaking part was an accident.

From behind her there comes a feminine voice that makes the hair on her neck stand up. "Oh...oh. I-is that you?" The voice breaks and sounds pained. Homura's heart twinges.


	3. Chapter 3

"I-I..." Homura stiffens in alarm because she hadn't produced that noise, her voice didn't sound as angelic or sweet or filled with grief.

Her brain is coming up with a thousand explanations that don't make her feel better. Someone had followed her here, a murderer, IT, her drugs were acting wack, the air in this cavern was making her hear things. The tension in the air rises and Homura remembers to breath.

There's a splash and Homura whirls back, almost stumbling between her feet. There's a girl with pink hair and surprised, wide, glossy golden eyes staring back at her. They're both equally stunned to see someone else in the private cave. Homura almost squeaks when she realizes that the girl isn't wearing a swim suit but something else draws her immediate attention. For some reason, the teary eyes, the trembling lips and the obvious way the girl is trying to suppress a sob makes Homura want to comfort the stranger. Homura's heart hurts in a way she hasn't experienced since the first days after she received her new heart and she desperately wants the pain to go away.

"Uhm," Homura places her hand to rub her aching chest. "I thought you were something else," the laughter that slips out from Homura is near hysterical. "Sorry, I didn't know this cave belonged to someone." Hobos stayed where they could.

"It's you," the girl says with awe and pushes up from the water; Homura focuses on her face but she can't recognize her. "I-I," Homura screams when she finally notices the naked torso is connected to a glistering pink with a dab of white fish tail. She trips over her feet and her butt lands on the hard, slippery ground and she losses her glasses but she can't stop screaming, and she scrambles back on the wet floor.

"Y-you- you're a-a-ahhhhh-" Homura screeches and her back hits the wall. She glares at the blobby pink mermaid and tries to think. "I'm warning you! Stay back or I'll-"

"Hey, hey," the mermaid shushes her with a soft voice. "It's okay. I'm not going to do anything. My friend forgot her pet crab, and I came back to get it. Did you land hard?" She asks with a genuinely concerned tone. "Are you okay?"

Homura doesn't respond, her lips clamped painfully.

"Are you okay?" The girl inquires again and Homura regains her voice.

"I need to talk to my doctor about my medication," Homura whispers to herself and wipes the sweat from her forehead. "Sorry, I think I'm hallucinating."

"Medication? Is there something I can do?" The creature pushes itself up again and Homura chokes down a scream.

"Ah, no, it's fine. I just need to sit," Homura rubs her pained thumping chest.

"I wasn't expecting you when I saw the trashed cover for the entrance and the glow sticks," the creature remarks and Homura blinks blearily.

"Oh," Homura winces thinking about the damaged reef. "Sorry about the plants. It was an accident, I needed to get air in my lungs...have I seen you before?"

"...No," the creature drawls. "Not really. I don't go near the shore. Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah," Homura nods and squints at the ground.

"A few feet in front of you...stop! A little to the left...an inch, there." Thanks to her guide, Homura sighs in relief when she feels her glasses.

"Ugh, they're wet and foggy," Homura groans and the lenses can't show more than a pink smudge of the creature.

"Can you do me a favor?"

"Oh, sure," Homura agrees.

"Near your right, there's a crab. Can you hand him to me? Don't worry he's friendly."

Homura just follows the voices instructions and prays nothing bizzare will happen in her dream or whatever is happening. The worst that could happen is Homura's brain formulating a lovely way to get her killed in an effort to wake her up.

Alarm bells are ringing inside Homura's head but she inches to the hallucination and if she glares she could see that the girl had almost transparent golden scales scattered over her upper body. The obvious care Homura takes to deliver the crab to her hallucination. She expects a wet plop when the crab goes through the hand but it stays on the creatures solid hand and Homura gulps.

"Thank you," the girl chirps.

"Ah, it's the least I can do," Homura says weakly.

Homura fidgets, it might be her imagination but it feels like her imagination is staring heavily at her.

"Can you find your way back?" The imaginary figure asks thoughtfully.

"I-yeah, probably."

"Will you let me help you? I'm afraid you're going to bonk your head to the roof of the tunnels."

"Oh," Homura is bewildered by this unexpected kindness and concern her brain is showing. "Uh-thank you."

Homura is no longer sure that she's hallucinating because when she grasps the hand the girl is offering, it's feels firm and unbelievably real. Homura's heart is rattling so furiously that she's afraid it'll explode but she lets the other girl pull her into the water and into her arms. Homura thinks this dream is incredibly vivid because she's gazing into the girls golden eyes and fears she's going to go blind if she doesn't look away.

"On the count of three I'll go down, okay," the girl whispers and Homura nods. "One, two, three!" Homura holds her breath and they go down. She thought submerging herself back would shock her back to reality but no, the girl's body is pressed to hers and her arms is securely wrapped around Homura's waist. Glancing back, Homura can see the glow sticks light being reflected from the girls fin and scales. The trip back to the surface is quick and because Homura can't see clearly, the girl spends about ten minutes searching before locating the place Homura left her stuff.

Homura is shivering as she pulls on her sweater and her muscles are aching from exhaustion. She wipes her glasses on her sweater and slips them on. Reluctantly, she looks up to see the creature resting on the rock and gazing at her. The creature smiles and Homura doesn't know whether to stare at her face or the giant fish tail.

"Can I come back? I was supposed to find and bring treasure," she didn't want to disappoint herself or the other kids.

"I don't think that's a good idea. The tunnel is only there at night and its dangerous to be out here at night. You're lucky I'm the one that found you."

"Why would it be dangerous?"

"The monsters that live in the depths come up at night. They're not very friendly. Go home, Homura," the mermaid smiles but it seems fake to Homura.

"Will you be alright?" Homura shuffles closer and the mermaid startles back but regains her composure.

"Don't worry. Not a long of things can hurt me," the mermaid assures her.

"Please be careful," Homura blurts out and blushes. Why was she worried about a figment of her imagination. Why did she care?

"Okay," the girl glances away and Homura shakes her head because that crappy okay isn't going to work.

Courage soars inside her and Homura walks near until she is right in front of the mermaid and she kneels so the mermaid can't look away.

"Please? Look after yourself," Homura begs and the girl moans.

"That's not fair! You're making that face."

"Please. I'm not leaving until you say it."

"I forgot how you can be, Homura," the girl sighs but her lips form into a smile. "I promise I'll be careful," she doesn't look away this time.

"Thank you," a heavy burden Homura hadn't realized was there before is relived slightly. She doesn't want to leave but the girl had done what Homura has asked so it's time to go. "Thank you," she breathes out and slowly stands up.

"Goodbye, Homura."

She must have been more tired than she had thought because with each step Homura feels like gravity is increasing on her. It's a miracle she even makes it to the Home. She takes a break on the side of her building where her open window is beckoning her. She sits and shuts her eyes and falls asleep right then.

Kyoko finds her at the first hint of the sun rising. She feels for a pulse and sighs in relief when she feels it. Her eyebrows furrow when she notes that a pulse isn't the only thing she can feel. Magic, thick and heavy coats the sleeping girl. Kyoko stares at Homura in wonder before deciding that she should take care of the girl.

"What the hell were you thinking? You'll freeze in those clothes," she grunts and pulls Homura onto her back. Through a miracle, Kyoko manages to push them up and through the window. "You owe me one, Homuhomu." She rummages through Homura clothes and finds suitable warm clothes. She peels the wet sweater from Homura's body, "We're both girls," she mumbles to herself as she undoes the string of Homura's bathing suit. She mannequins Homura's light limbs through the holes of her pajamas and grins in victory when she makes it. She wraps a small towel around Homura's bun and places the girl in her bed. Homura still feels cold so Kyoko graps her own heavy blanket and drops it over Homura so the girl has two heavy layers to keep her warm. "Can't say I didn't try to keep you alive," Kyoko yawns. She wires her alarm to wake her up in two hours and falls on her bed.


End file.
